Death Dancer Ino
by HiroJiyuNaka
Summary: During the Chuunin Exams, Ino watches as Sakura is killed, unable to help. Something deep within her snaps, and the power of Death itself surfaces from within! Can she avenge Sakura? She's got Naruto to help her, but can she tell him how she feels before it's too late?


**AN: **This is my answer to a challenge I took up from MikeJV37 a long time ago, and only just now managed to make it presentable. The reason I spent so much damn time on this one is... well, I just hadn't gotten around to it for one! Also, this is Mike we're talking about. He's up there with pudgypudge, VFSnake, and TheLemonSage! I had to make my response up to his standards! Truly, I feel kind of honored. To complete a challenge by _the_ MikeJV37?! I'm pretty impressed with myself, to be honest.

You can visit his page to see the full challenge details, but here's a small amount of copy-paste for my lazier readers:

**During the Forest of Death test, Ino and her team mates watch Sakura fight Kin Tsuchi, but when Kin kills Sakura something deep in Ino's mind snaps and unlocks an ability no one thought possible, the power of Death itself.**

There are a multitude of other conditions I must meet, and I will list them in the chapters that I complete them at the bottom. Mike left this fairly open-ended, and I could complete most of the requirements in the first few chapters... But I don't think I will. I think I'll draw this one out, as I had a lot of fun writing it!

Sorry Mike, but your title suggestion was, honestly, a bit awkward-sounding to me. I like this one better, and I think you will, too! Trust me, she'll be living up to her name.

Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor the original idea of Ino's new powers. Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, and the original spark idea of Ino's powers belong to MikeJV37, or whatever he got the idea from. ... What? I don't ALWAYS have to put in a joke! Fkin' greedy...

**(~HJN~)**

Chapter 1-

Yamanaka Ino, heiress to the Yamanaka Clan, was crying. Her hands were red with the aftermath of death, as were her purple clothes. Not of those she killed, of course. Those were clean. Bloodless. _Soulless_, one might say.

No, the blood on her hands was that of her best friend and greatest rival, Haruno Sakura. She was a pink-haired genius with a slightly large forehead. Ino held her pale body in her lap, silently weeping over the event. Her blonde-turned-snow-white hair fell in front of her eyes, the ponytail tie she normally wore having broken off. A small, trained part of her mind made a note to get a sturdier one later. Her kunoichi instincts were still working, at least, even if her rational thought wasn't.

Some sense in her told her that a hand was touching her shoulder. It wasn't her sense of touch, and it was only barely her ninja sense. Lifting her head up, she looked into her dead best friend's eyes. Sakura looked.. fine. Healthy. Beautiful, even. But it was only because that was how she wanted to be remembered.

Looking deep into those green eyes with her, once blue, now sparkling silver orbs caused her to once again remember why she was holding a lifeless body. To remember why she was currently looking... at a ghost.

(~Dancer~)  
(~Dancer~)

Shikamaru had to hold his female teammate down as Sakura tried to defend Naruto and Sasuke. The blonde watched, helpless as Sakura was captured. Astounded, as Sakura cut her own hair to escape. It was logical, really. Caught by the hair? Cut it off. But the meaning behind it was profound, especially with their past. Sakura, at some level, was trying to become a better kunoichi.

When Sakura pounced on that wind guy, Zaku, stabbed, and bit him, Shikamaru finally went into his 'thinking pose.'

'_About damn time! Come on Shikamaru, use those lazy Nara brains!' _Ino thought, watching Sakura get her head beaten even as she held onto the enemy's arm.

Ino started as she heard her teammate's voice, "Okay. There aren't a whole lot of good options here. Are you sure we should help?" Ino's glare was all the answer he needed. He continued, sighing, "Troublesome woman. Our best bet is the standard capture formation. I'll restrict the guy in wrappings, since his sound jutsu are probably our biggest worry at the moment. Ino, possess the other guy and get Sakura out of there. Chouji-"

"Do I have to?" Chouji whined, clearly not wanting to get involved with such scary opponents.

"Yes. They are Konoha shinobi. It doesn't matter what the test is about, Konoha shinobi are Konoha shinobi, and they deserve our help. Chouji, you'll need to restrain the girl. We'll figure out what to do with them once the fighting stops. Everyone ready?"

Just as the other two nodded, Zaku, in frustration, spoke. "Oh just kill her and get this bitch off me!"

And just like that, Ino jumped into action. Forming several handsigns for her signature jutsu, she felt her teammates doing the same. As she completed the preparation, she saw Kin take out a kunai knife and throw it at Sakura. Ino quickly took aim and fired her jutsu, softly calling out, "Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

But it was too late. Her jutsu was a slow one, and the kunai met its mark first, embedding right into Sakura's head. Ino's consciousness arrived just as her best friend's soul left her body, and the two.. connected.

A half-moment later Ino was back in her own body, her jutsu cancelling itself early. Shikamaru, unaware of Ino's dilemma, finished his jutsu and bent his own shadow out through the bushes, capturing Dosu with his Shadow Possession Jutsu.

When Dosu cried out in shock, Chouji's Partial Body Expansion Jutsu was primed and ready. Kin opened her mouth, probably to ask what was wrong, and the Akimichi boy's arms enlarged and elongated, stretching out of the foliage they were hiding behind and grabbing her.

Everything went perfectly in the boys' eyes. Until Zaku threw Sakura off of himself and fired two blasts of air blindly into the bushes, knocking Shikamaru and Chouji on their backs. Kin and Dosu now free, the three of them were instantly on guard. Shikamaru recovered first, managing to land in a crouch while Chouji thumped to the ground beside him.

Dosu rushed past Ino, not even seeing her. Shikamaru grabbed Chouji and leapt into the trees, as far away from Dosu's arm as he could get. Dosu continued to engage them while Zaku and Kin lent support.

Ino stared at Sakura, her mind reeling. She tried to move, but her chakra was going haywire and all she could do was sit there and watch her once best friend's body.

She was hallucinating. She had to be. There was no way she could see a ghost of Sakura, _with long hair tied up in a ribbon,_ standing next to her body! Better yet, there was no way that Sakura was dead. Someone like that didn't deserve to die by a knife to the head!

Ino's mind was brought back to the fight at Shikamaru's cry of pain. Her head whipped around and saw her teammate clutching his bleeding ear. Rage filled her, having built up and been suppressed by shock and fear. Chakra literally exploded from her body in waves of blue energy. Everyone snapped their heads at her as she stood, her chakra visible as it writhed and expanded, coating her in a shroud. Nobody could see Sakura's ghost walk up to Ino and put a hand on her shoulder, though Ino knew it had happened. Her chakra seemed to react to the touch, strengthening and intensifying, producing a wild wind in the area. Her clothing and hair were buffeted by the gale.

Her chakra started turning bright white, shining almost blindingly. "You.." her voice was strained, full of tears threatening to burst. Her eyes were clenched shut, as were her fists. "You assholes," Ino spat. She had never used that word before, but it felt right.

Her body shook with a sob. "You killed her.." Ino's hair began changing, turning white at the roots and spreading down towards the tips. "You killed my best friend!" Ino's eyes snapped open, and the irises were a bright, shining silver, flowing with tears. **"I loved her and you killed her!"**

Ino shot into motion, leaving Sakura's spirit behind, as well as a trail of tears. The chakra covered her body like an aura, and she moved like a girl possessed. No- like a ghost. Dosu was her first target, as she barrelled into him, pinning him to a tree. His voice was gone, stolen by this white-haired demon. She gripped his neck, squeezing and squeezing with strength she didn't have before. Dosu didn't suffocate, though. No, Ino felt an impulse; an instinct that compelled her. The chakra around her shaped and molded into a ghastly, clawed hand that thrust itself into Dosu's head. Ino felt his memories this way, drawing them into herself. After she was satisfied that she had everything the man could show her, that she cared about anyway, she killed him. The chakra ripped out his core, the creation point of his chakra. His soul. Ino withdrew her spectral hand and observed the glowing blue sphere coated in a soft blue flame. Instinct helped her once again, and she pulled it within herself.

A blast of pressurized air disturbed her, though the high-frequency sound that accompanied it was stopped by her chakra shroud. The air was sharp enough that it cut her hairband off, letting her white tresses fall freely.

Ino snapped around, her gleaming eyes like white-hot daggers. "Why..." she tried to ask.

Zaku, scared out of his mind but too stupid to realize it, foolishly answered her. "Because we're shinobi! Shinobi die and shinobi kill, it's the way of our lives!"

Ino's bangs shadowed her eyes as she replied. "Shinobi kill? Everyone kills. Everyone dies. But not everyone should _be killed_. You didn't need to kill her! You didn't kill Lee, only put him out of the fight! **Sakura didn't need to die!**"

Her hand flung outward, as though she were throwing a shuriken. Indeed, her chakra flew in an arc, sweeping through Zaku and ripping out his soul. That, too, she absorbed.

As Zaku died, Kin collapsed, unconscious. Ino paid her no mind. Kin could wait. Her chakra settled and faded, though her hair and eyes remained. She walked between her teammates, and Chouji reached out, beginning to say her name. Shikamaru silenced him with a look and a shake of his head.

Ino continued through the destroyed bushes, passing the pink-headed spirit still standing where Ino... awakened. Ino took Sakura's body into her lap, and wept.

(~Dancer~)  
(~Dancer~)

The hand calmed her, and Ino stood. Chouji walked up to Ino, supporting Shikamaru with one arm. "Are you.. Okay, Ino?"

She took a deep breath and looked at Sakura's ghost. Smiling sadly, she nodded. "Yeah.. I'm okay. I don't know what that was, though." she looked over at Naruto and Sasuke. "What do we do with them?"

Shikamaru jerked a thumb behind him and replied, "Better yet, what do we do with her?"

Ino's eyes narrowed and she walked up to the unconscious Kin. As much as she wanted to just end her, instinct seemed to be her guide at the moment, and she placed two fingers on the girl's head. The fingers glowed with the sign of her white chakra, and she dived into Kin's memory. Orochimaru giving them their mission was something she had seen through Dosu's eyes already, and everything before that was too far to be relevant. Starting just after their mission was assigned, she watched as Kin argued with her teammates about the mission, saying that it didn't make sense and was sure to get them killed. She watched, from Kin's point of view, as Zaku suddenly placed some kind of jutsu on her. From then on, Kin's memories were fuzzy, and filled with a compulsion to obey orders.

Pulling away from the memories, Ino's expression softened. To do something under the influence of a genjutsu.. She couldn't be held responsible. But as much as Ino tried to forgive her, Kin still needed to pay in her eyes. There was just too much hurt in Ino's heart to let go so easily.

Any further thought was cut off by an explosion of chakra behind her, as well as a startled gasp from her teammates. Ino spun, her hair whipping around, watching as Sasuke, covered in black, glowing purple marks, stood from where he had been resting. He, just as she had been, was surrounded in chakra, though this was a dark, tainted purple swirling around him.

Sasuke seemed to look at Sakura's dead body, and come to the conclusion that Shikamaru and Chouji were responsible, they being the closest to her. He rushed at them, faster than they could even see, but Ino somehow beat him there. Her chakra was not visible at the moment, though her eyes were shining. She stopped his fist and held him there. They struggled against each other, Ino's face stoic and cold. Though not for long. A brief sting shot through her eyes, forcing her to blink. When next they opened, she could still see Sasuke and the mysterious chakra, but she could also see something else. A soul, like the ones she had previously devoured- _'Don't think about it!'_- sitting in in the center of Sasuke's torso, just above his belly button. Another.. _thing_ was rooted in his neck, just behind his left shoulder. It was dark purple, wreathed in black flames like a soul would, but it was tiny, almost like a mere fragment of the twisted being it belonged to. It was attached- attacking?- Sasuke's soul, corrupting and binding it. Her eyes widened in surprise and disgust. Once more, instinct was her friend as her free hand shot out and clamped onto his neck, right where the curse mark was.

Sasuke's body convulsed and twitched, the chakra fading, and the marks receding back to his neck. Ino _pulled_, and the foreign soul was sucked out of the seal. It writhed, and tried to escape her grasp. Another burst of intuition made her crush the soul fragment, evaporating it. An ungodly screech was heard for a moment before fading, and Sasuke was unconscious once more.

Ino supported the boy as he fell, holding onto his shoulders. No longer a whirlwind of emotional fury, she looked to her teammates for help, worry plastered on her face, wondering what to do. Chouji moved forward and helped Ino carry Sasuke back under the roots next to Naruto. Ino then walked back to Sakura's body and knelt beside it. Sakura's ghost came up to her and knelt in front of Ino, placing a hand on her knee.

"I loved you, you know. Since we were little. Girls aren't supposed to love other girls, but I did anyway. You were the only one, so I thought it was okay since I still liked boys." To Shikamaru and Chouji, Ino was talking to herself, directed at Sakura's lifeless form. As such, they politely kept their distance and pretended not to hear anything. In truth, Ino was aware that the pink-haired ghost was real, and was letting her emotions flow out. She took a breath and pulled out a cloth, wetting it with a canteen and began cleaning what she could of the body.

"I always thought it was stupid, you know? Our rivalry over Sasuke-kun. It's a habit now, calling him that. At first, I only went after him because everyone said I was supposed to. That since he was the best and the most desirable, every girl in her right mind would want him. I didn't want to seem crazy, especially since I was just starting to realize my feelings for you. After a while it just became routine... I don't know why I'm telling you this now of all times."

Ino paused, and in that pause, Sakura's ghost spoke. _"It means a lot to know that you felt that way, Ino. I'm sorry I never knew or noticed, but it makes me feel good to hear it, even now."_

"You weren't supposed to notice, don't feel bad. Neither was he."

Sakura cocked her head to the side. _"'He' who?"_

"I said I still liked boys. The only reason I knew that was because I already liked a boy. Still do... It's not Sasuke, obviously. I think I made that clear. I like somebody with a bit more... emotion in them. Sasuke's not bad, just not my type, I guess."

"_Oh? And who is this mystery boy?"_ Sakura asked, as though this were just another day discussing gossip, instead of a conversation from beyond the grave.

"I think you know him pretty well. The whole village knows him. He's going to be Hokage someday, you know!" Ino said, smiling devilishly.

Sakura gasped. _"WHAT?!"_

Ino's grin faded to a soft, lost smile. "Uzumaki Naruto..."

"Ugh.. Somebody call my name?" a voice groaned.

All heads turned to the blonde boy under the tree as he woke up, the wet cloth Sakura had been using to calm his fever sliding from his face.

Ino jolted into a standing position, startled and afraid. "Naruto! I- well, that is to say-" She stuttered, wondering how to explain the scene to him.

Naruto rubbed his head and blinked his eyes open before giving a great big full-body yawn. "Ino? What are you doing here? What happened? Last thing I remember we were fighting this pale snake guy... Oh! Sasuke, Sakura-chan! Where are they, are they okay?"

He looked about, seeing Sasuke asleep, but clearly okay. When he turned to find Sakura, Ino had phased into existence in front of him. "Naruto, listen to me. You need to stay calm, okay? They've been punished already, nothing more needs to be done!"

Naruto pushed past her saying, "What are you talking about? What happened to Saku-"

He stopped short, his gaze falling on the prone figure in the middle of the clearing. He stood woodenly, his footsteps heavy as he walked past Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. The boys watched with worried faces, but Ino kept her eyes on the ground, her back to the scene. She already knew what it would look like, anyway.

Naruto reached Sakura's body and dropped to his knees. She was mostly clean from Ino's efforts, but the sheer lack of color to her skin and the absolute stillness gave it away. Naruto's tears rolled down his face, his eyes wide in shock. He wandered his hands above the body before pulling them back and falling onto them beside her, as though afraid to touch her.

"Sakura-chan... Why!? W-who-..." There wasn't even anything he could think to say, not without choking up. He simply cried, hunched over with his head down.

A fresh tear fell down Ino's face at the sound. She stood and walked over to Naruto, kneeling in front of him. Without a word, she pulled him into a hug, and he latched onto her, crying into her vest. Together they sat, sharing sorrows and regrets without speaking.

(~Dancer~)  
(~Dancer~)

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto cried, and four bunshin popped into being next to him. They went off to do their duty, wrapping the three dead in bags, and tying up the still out-cold Kin. Burying them in the Forest of Death didn't sit right with them, and Kin had to be interrogated for information about Orochimaru. Team 7 now had an earth scroll, courtesy of the team from Oto, and Team 8 required no more victories. They had gotten lucky early on.

Hyuuga Neji and Tenten of Team 9 had come by to pick up their unconscious teammate earlier, and little sympathy was spared in the small amount of time they had been there.

Sasuke, more clear-headed than Naruto at the moment, turned to Shikamaru, the accepted leader of Team 10. "Thanks for the assist. We'd all be dead if you three hadn't shown up."

Shikamaru nodded, still slightly wary of the Killing Intent Sasuke had put out when he woke up earlier. "Sure. Hey, listen. We should team up."

Sasuke looked doubtful, and said, "Thanks, but I don't think so."

"You guys are down one member, and you still don't have both scrolls. And with the state Naruto is in, you're really going to turn down our help?"

They both looked over at where three Narutos and an Ino were standing over Sakura's body bag, staring into the forest with empty expressions. Two more Narutos were silently crying off to the side.

Sasuke sighed. "I see your point. Alright, but what do you get out of this?"

"We aren't really a team meant for open combat. Chouji's our only heavy-hitter, and he's almost a pacifist until somebody insults him."

Sasuke smirked. "I don't know about that, you guys seemed to handle the Oto nin just fine!"

Shikamaru shook his head and stared at Ino. "You'll have to talk to her about that. She did it all."

"Ino? Fighting? I'm sorry I missed it." Sasuke watched as Ino's snow-white hair fluttered slightly in the breeze. "What's up with her hair and eyes, anyway? I didn't know the Yamanaka had some kind of bloodline."

"They don't. I don't know what that was, and she doesn't seem too keen on explaining. All I know is, she killed the two boys without wounding them. Some kind of white chakra shroud ripped through them." Shikamaru looked at Sasuke, wary of his next statement. "Maybe there's a bug going around. You woke up just after the fighting with a purple chakra shroud and a bad temper."

Sasuke nodded, staring at random into the forest. "We were attacked by Orochimaru of the Sennin."

Shikamaru spun, shocked. "You're kidding!"

"He put a seal on Naruto's stomach, which seemed to mess with his chakra for a while. Then he bit me, and this thing showed up on my neck." He pulled at his shirt collar, exposing the three tomoe-shaped seal. "We both passed out soon after. When I woke up earlier, it was burning, and spreading over my body. I felt... Insane. It's the only way to describe it. It was like the floodgates had been opened on my chakra, and also my emotions."

Shikamaru looked over at Ino. "She pulled something out of it when you woke up. I don't think she's in any state to answer questions, but she probably knows the most about what just happened."

Sasuke nodded. "I'll have to ask her what she knows, then. Not now, though. Right now we need to get moving. Naruto!"

One of the blondes turned to face him, seemingly the original. "What."

Shikamaru cringed at the deadness in his voice, but Sasuke was slightly less affected. "I know you carry around empty scrolls, seal the dead into them and break camp." Taking on a softer tone, he continued, "We'll get Sakura a proper service when we get out of the Forest, and the scroll will protect her body."

Naruto, about to lash out at the Uchiha, thought about his last words, and nodded. Ino went to help him as Chouji decided to be of use and break Team 7's campsite.

Sasuke looked up, just able to see the tip of the tower that was their target. "I guess Team 7 fails the Second Test."

Shikamaru nodded. "Every member must make it to the center alive. Man, I never thought that part of the rules would need to be enforced." He looked at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, and said, "You're being very calm about this. Your teammate just died. Don't you care?"

Sasuke scoffed, but his words surprised the Nara. "Of course I do. As much as I made it seem otherwise, we _were_ friends, you know. Shinobi die and Shinobi kill, but that doesn't make us feel any better about it. It just makes us feel it less, in general. The destruction of my clan made it very easy for me to shrug this off, but trust me when I say that I do feel saddened by it."

Shikamaru stayed silent, the two simply staring at nothing for a while. He supposed that it made sense, in a strange, 'Sasuke' way. Eventually, they were ready to leave. Kin was carried on Chouji's back in the center of the formation. Sasuke was in front with Ino and Naruto covering the left and right sides, while Shikamaru brought up the rear.

It was still dark, so they kept to the areas with the most moonlight in the hopes that a large group would discourage any attackers.

(~Dancer~)  
(~Dancer~)

Ino's breath grew heavier. She felt... drained. Emotionally, physically, just... out of energy. Finally, she spoke up. "I need to stop, something's wrong," she said as she collapsed against a tree.

Sasuke turned to look at her and said, "We're halfway to the tower, can't you keep going?"

Ino looked up at him and shook her head, nearly gasping for breath. "N-no, no, I.. I feel like I- I- ... I don't know, it's like I just ran a thousand miles..."

Sasuke nudged her chin to get her to look at him. Studying her eyes for a moment, he sighed. "You're suffering from chakra exhaustion. I recognize the signs from when Kakashi-sensei had the same problem." He stood and glanced at the surrounding area. "We'll have to find someplace to rest. If she stays active, her body could shut down."

Ino somehow couldn't muster the strength to be all that worried. "Oh.. hah.. hah.. doesn't sound so bad.. hah... doesn't sound good, either..."

She suddenly found herself being picked up and settled onto Naruto's back, the boy still staring ahead stoically. "It's too dangerous to stop. Making a camp to rest just opens us to attack. We saw what happened to..." Everyone averted their gaze from his, not that he was even looking. "We'll have a better chance if we keep moving." Six clones popped up around them, more smoke appearing than normal. Clearly, Naruto wasn't really trying to control his chakra at the moment.

Chouji and Naruto took the middle of the new formation, Sasuke still leading with his Sharingan scanning for threats. The clones took up the sides, mostly as a flesh wall.

Ino regained her breath now that she wasn't walking. Relaxing against her crush's back, she considered trying to talk to him, but wasn't sure what to say. He still didn't know that Kin was the one that killed Sakura. She knew he deserved to know. But how could she explain that it wasn't her fault? It was fairly openly known that the concept of a genjutsu was lost on him, let alone what it can do to you.

'_Naruto has a willpower that no one really understands. He's strong, almost too strong. Sticking to his beliefs is so easy for him that he doesn't get how hard resisting a mental domination can be...'_

"_You're thinking about how to tell Naruto about my death, aren't you?"_

Ino's eyes widened and looked to her right. Sakura was floating alongside her where she hadn't been, before. She was about to respond, but caught herself. _'I can't start talking to a ghost in front of everyone!'_

Sakura giggled at her apparent plight. _"Don't worry. I'll do the talking._

"_I know you, Ino. I know you'll find some way to explain it, and keep Kin safe. That is what you want, right? I recognize a genjutsu when I see one better than anyone in our class, you know that. I could tell that some kind of powerful compulsion jutsu had been placed on Kin the moment you took out its caster, Zaku, and Kin collapsed._

"_Once you tell him, Naruto will want her dead. You need to convince him that he _doesn't_. You saw in her memories, right? I felt your emotions turn from fury to sympathy when you touched her head earlier. Those guys talked about Orochimaru and Sasuke-kun. Tell me.. did Orochimaru order them to kill Sasuke-kun?"_

Ino nodded very slightly. _'Although, Kin got the impression that Orochimaru didn't expect them to succeed..'_

"_... Then tell Naruto that. We met and fought Orochimaru earlier, I'm sure you heard about it."_

Ino nodded, she had overheard Sasuke and Shikamaru talking about it.

"_Naruto... If I know Naruto at all, he'll switch his focus to Orochimaru once he hears about it. I spent some time talking to the lug on our way back from a mission once. He doesn't much tolerate beating around the bush. Make sure he knows that Orochimaru and Zaku were the ones responsible, and then make sure he knows that Kin is his best bet to finding Orochimaru. Plus, heehee, I'm sure he wants a rematch with that snake!"_

Ino smiled, that was probably true.

Sakura smiled, too, and then her face grew solemn. _"I don't know why I'm still hanging around, but I feel a connection to you, Ino. I've been having trouble staying... well... I'm not sure how to explain it. Awake? Yeah.. I think that fits. There are times where I'm not aware anymore. Sometimes it's just darkness, other times it's like I'm dreaming. I see visions... mentions of events that I have no way of knowing about, or that couldn't have happened, yet. I don't know.." _She paused, then brightened slightly._ "It's been getting easier, though! You're like a beacon in the darkness, drawing me in, reminding me that I'm not really gone! I just don't know how to thank you."_

Ino blushed despite the situation. There was a lot of affection in Sakura's voice at the moment, and it was making her nervous about her earlier confession. Sakura's last comment made her shake her head, though. _'You don't need to thank me. I'm not doing anything.'_

Sakura looked at Naruto, and her face fell again. _"I wish I could speak to him... But I don't even know how I'm talking to you! ... Ha! Besides.. He's terrified of ghosts!"_

Ino almost laughed, but kept it in check. Her breathing had gotten easier, and she wasn't sweating quite so much anymore. Still, they had been taught about the effects of chakra exhaustion, and she didn't want to risk walking under her own power just yet.

Speaking of power, what was that earlier?! The more she thought about it, the more she realized what she did. _'I just killed two people... by ripping out their souls?!' _

She couldn't think much more, however, as a wave of dizziness rolled over her. _'What the hell? I was feeling better...'_ She could feel her chakra still draining, even as her body started shutting down. Eventually, her mind couldn't stay awake, and she fell into unconsciousness.

(~Dancer~)  
(~Dancer~)

Part of the training for any Yamanaka ninja is the study and knowledge of the human mind. If one is going to be messing around in another's head, one must know what they are doing, after all. It is for this reason that all Yamanaka clan children are taught how to access their mindscape, an imaginary world in which all of their thoughts and memories reside.

Ino's in particular was a forest. Don't ask her why, she'd never be able to tell you. It's just how her mind worked. Maybe it has something to do with growing up in Konoha, a village literally hidden in leaves. She has her own theories, of course. The most credible being the one where her personality most resembles a forest. That, too, is a concept she would be hard-pressed to explain to you.

Ino's forest was rather bright, although at the moment it all seemed a bit less colorful, reflecting her recent trauma. The trees were not the enormous monoliths of the Forest of Death, although there were a few that got close to that size, here and there. The leaves of the biggest trees shifted, and changed. Close inspection would reveal that they were actually images of her memories, moments throughout her history. Vines stretched and wrapped and criss-crossed all through the canopy, looping over branches and snaking along the ground. The vines were blue in color, and seemed to glow and pulsate. They represent her chakra coils, and usually emitted a feeling of liveliness and energy, though, due to her exhaustion, they were dim, and sluggish.

At this moment, however, Ino wasn't thinking about the inner machinations of her mind, and so she didn't really notice the one or two vines here and there that were white, instead of her own blue. She was more concerned with why she was in it in the first place. The last thing she remembered was passing out on Naruto's back. There was no reason for her to have sunken into her subconscious.

Ino stood still for a moment, looking at her chakra vines, then smacked her head. "Yeah, no reason. Unless, of course, I passed out slightly delirious from chakra exhaustion and my own mind couldn't handle the stress ! Quit being such a ditz, this is serious!"

That was another interesting thing about mindscapes: Since you're already in your mind, you can't 'think', per-se. Most of your thoughts come out orally. Only the fastest and slightest of cognitive processes remain silent.

Doing a full turn, she couldn't see anything indicating mental damage, and smiled to herself. "At least I'm not crazy.. All of that really happened... Sakura.."

Her eyes, which had seemed to have already shed every tear they had, began to water again. "She's... But she's not, she's... Wh-.. Dammit Forehead, I can't even grieve for you! You went and became a ghost or something..." Regardless, she did grieve. Her quiet sobs wracked her body as she stood, clenching and unclenching her fists. The forest darkened, and it started to rain in sadness.

Her head tilted down, her hair fell around her face like a curtain, and she gazed at the pale locks. She had seen it before, of course. It wasn't a bad color, she supposed, and it clearly had something to do with that thing she had done to those Oto nin.

"The Oto nin..." Rage suddenly filled her. Thoughts of Kin had long since left her. She had had enough time to sift through the girl's memories to see just how different that jutsu made her act from Kin's normal personality. The only thing Kin could be counted guilty of is joining Orochimaru in the first place.

No, her rage was well-placed in Orochimaru and the two deceased Oto nin. Her eyes clenched shut, and the rain picked up, falling at an angle, the wind in the forest thrashing through the trees. "Orochimaru... Wherever you are... I just want you to know... **You**'ve taken her from me!... Not Fate, not Kami, even the Shinigami hasn't taken her, and for that, I am thankful. You... You will pay for this... I will wipe out every last shred of your existence, and don't think for a second that Naruto won't agree with me!"

A quiet hum filled the air, building and building as she seethed, before finally a burst of force radiated through the forest, coming from behind her. The burst startled Ino, who whipped around in time to watch the vines that were her chakra coils grow bright. The blue glow that flowed through them brightened, and became as white as her hair, filling her with a power she had felt before.

Even as she felt empowered by this chakra, she felt drained by it, as though it was eating at her lifeforce. She could feel a pulsing through the ground, coming from where the burst of chakra had seemed to originate. Following the rhythmic thumping of the forest floor, one burst each second, she pushed away the feeling of sudden fatigue and headed for what were hopefully answers. The rain had let up, and the wind had calmed down, though it still could be seen ruffling her hair or the foliage, dancing in little circles through the forest.

After a short time, she could actually see a circle of light passing over the ground with each pulsation, fading away as it got farther from its origin. Some time later, she gasped as she came to the source. Of all things, she supposed she should have expected it to be her pond.

Ino's pond sat in a clearing, and it was how her mind preferred to portray her chakra pool. It was a shimmering circle of water about twenty feet across, with an indeterminate depth. Water lilies and purple tulips grew at the water's edge. Rising from the presumed bottom of the pond and coming to a stop just above the surface were eight columns of stone, each five inches across, softened from the water, but not so much that they were perfectly shaped. They represented the Eight Gates, and helped to circulate the water, her chakra, in a certain way. The vines were thicker here, and more numerous. Each single vine would circle the clearing at least once before spreading outward into the forest. The water, a deeper blue than was natural, was slightly rough due to her imperfect chakra control, but it remained calm enough to see through. At the bottom of the pond, a glow could be seen. That glow was the creation point of her chakra: her soul.

At least, that's how it used to look. There seemed to have been some recent changes. For example, the deep blue water was more gone than not, replaced by some white liquid, and what little there was seemed to have gravitated to the new addition that had risen from her pond. A ninth column of stone, easily five feet across and perfectly smooth, sat in the center of the pool. Sitting atop it was some kind of white, translucent crystal that her water, _her chakra_ was floating over and surrounding, as though it was pulling the water. It was difficult to see through the water and the crystal, but something was trapped, there. Buried in the white gem. Squinting, she could just make it out, and the sight made her gasp again.

A scythe, just taller than her, was sitting on the blunt end of its handle. Said handle was a smooth, flawless white, and ever so slightly curved backwards. The long blade was wicked-looking, coming out at the top and curving outward, looking like it could cut the very wind. About four inches of the blade was poking out of the crystal, and the chakra-water in that area seemed hot and slightly bubbly, like it was broiling.

Concerned for her chakra, she moved to walk across the water, something she had always been able to do in her mind. As she walked over the white chakra-water, something below the surface caught her eye. Looking down, she stopped abruptly. For down below the surface, higher up than her own, now white, soul were two glowing blue souls, circling the pool lazily.

"Abumi Zaku... Kinuta Dosu... Why... O-oh..." Their names hopped into her head, unbidden. She had, of course looked into the minds of Dosu and Kin, so this was not strange to her. Seemingly at the call of their names, the two souls floated up out of the water to rest in front of her, glowing softly. Her breath was shaky, and she reached forward to grab one of the souls. She hesitated for a moment, and took the soul into her hand. As soon as she did, she was assaulted with visions.

This was Zaku's soul, apparently, as she was suddenly shown, at high speeds, all of the bad things he had done. A few counts of murdering an innocent, one of rape, unprovoked assaults and thefts... She took note of how some of them were done on orders, but he always enjoyed the acts. She pushed those images away and a new set seemed to come. These of good things he had done in his life. They were noticeably fewer. He seemed to have a soft spot for cats, at least, always helping one in trouble.

She managed to push the visions away again, and all that was left was the sense of choice. That was really the only way she could describe it. A choice. Zaku had made choices, and they were the wrong ones. She could see it, now, in his soul. A darkness; a twister half-formed in the center. Corruption had set in, and it didn't seem like he had tried to fight it.

The feeling of choice lingered, and Ino felt as though she, too, had a choice to make. She looked up at the scythe, with its blade poking out of the stone. Her legs moved without her consent, and she walked across the silver water, approaching the gleaming metal. At this distance, she could see with more detail how the blue water, her chakra, was using itself up. Evaporating even as it seemingly wore away at the clear amber-like crystal. The blade hummed quietly in front of her. It felt... anxious? Excited?

"It's eager... Like a puppy waiting for a treat." Looking at the soul in her hand, she thought to herself. "I hate him. He caused this.. And he's done so many horrible things..." She looked up at the scythe again. "Is this.. a punishment? Would he pay for his crimes this way? Do I even have the choice to forgive him?"

The scythe stopped its humming for a moment, as though it were thinking. The chakra, the water she was standing on, began vibrating, and it sent shivers down her spine. Not quite a voice, yet more than a vibe, _something_ seeped from the scythe, and it answered her: This is only a portal. A pathway to the next world. The soul will face judgement there, but you may have a say in where you think it should go, if you are so inclined.

Ino stepped back at the feeling. It was a very odd sensation, to be sure. The message was there, but it seemed to be placed in her mind without the words. "I have a say... The final say?"

Again, the message came: No.

Ino stared at the soul, and her expression hardened. "Then I recommend that this one be sent to punishment. I know there are worse people out there, but that doesn't mean people like Zaku should be let off easy."

The scythe started humming again, and she got the sense that it was pleased with her recommendation. It's blade shined for a moment before turning a deep, endless black. The white crystal cracked, and the scythe practically vibrated. She lifted her arm and touched the soul, Zaku's last connection to this world, to the tip of the blade, and it was sucked into the void. The scythe didn't calm down, though. Instead, it seemed to get even more violent in its shaking, the crystal cracking and chipping even further. Finally, with a tremendous _**CRACK!**_, the weapon broke free of its prison, humming almost happily. Her blue chakra, or what was left of it, had fallen to rest on the surface of its white counterpart, but it was slowly flowing in a spiral, picking up momentum.

The scythe floated into her hands, and she caught it in a daze. When the handle made contact with her, she felt a spark travel along her fingers, snapping her out of her trance. The blade seemed to be drawn towards Dosu's soul, and she walked over to it. Touching it revealed Dosu's past in much the same way as Zaku's. Dosu had done nearly as many horrible things as Zaku, but almost all of them were under orders, and he didn't seem to take the same kind of glee in them. She did notice, though, that he seemed to get a sort of sick pleasure by asserting dominance over his foes.

Truly conflicted, and still slowly losing focus from exhaustion, she said, "I.. I don't know... I have no recommendation for this one. Do as he deserves, I guess."

When she touched the blade of the scythe to the soul, still not quite sure she was doing the right thing, the scythe also pulled in the last of her original, blue chakra. Only the white remained, and with that, the last of her energy left her, and she fell unconscious even in her own mindscape.

**(HJN)**

**AN:** Well! That took a long time, but it was a lot of fun! I feel like it moved kinda quickly, but I'll leave that up to you guys.

So, the conditions that I met in this chapter are as follows:

1) When Ino activates her power, her hair and eyes MUST turn white.

2) Ino MUST kill Kin's team mates by ripping out their souls, Kin's fate is up to you.

3) Sakura's spirit MUST hang around (for whatever reason) and help Ino, who can see and hear her.

4) Ino MUST remove the piece of Orochimaru's spirit within the seal on Sasuke, freeing him.

Mike, if you're wondering about the "weapon" condition, let me just tell you right now, it's not what you think. You're in for a surprise, hehe!

Well, I'm off to get some much-needed sleep. I hope you guys enjoy this update. If things go well, the next chapter of Shifted Dreams will be coming out next, but I don't know when. Until then, stay safe!

Ja ne~


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